All Souls Day Prayers

Prayers and Collects for the All Souls Feast and the Souls in Purgatory

What is All Souls Day?

On All Souls Day. the Church commemorates and prays for the souls in Purgatory, undergoing purification of their temporal punishments before entering heaven. All Souls Day is November 2nd. These All Souls Day Prayers relate to these themes, including praying for those in Purgatory. More Info: All Souls Day.

Catholic Collect from the Mass for the Dead

[For all our departed brothers and sisters]
Merciful Father,
hear our prayer
and console us.
As we renew
our faith in Your Son,
whom You raised from the dead,
strengthen our hope
that all our departed brothers and sisters
will share in His resurrection,
who lives and reigns
with You and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen

Requiem Aeternam

Eternal Rest grant unto them (him/her),
O Lord,
and let perpetual light shine upon them (him/her).
May they (he/she) rest in peace.

Benedictine Collect for All Souls Day

We suppliants, O Lord,
pour forth our prayers
for the souls of Thy servants and handmaids,
that Thou wouldst mercifully pardon
whatsoever they have committed
through human frailty
and graciously bring their sufferings to an end.
Through Our Lord Jesus Christ. AmenFrom the Benedictine Diurnal

Invocation for the Souls in Purgatory

My God,
bestow Thy blessings and Thy mercies
on all persons
and on those souls in Purgatory
for whom I am in charity, gratitude, or friendship bound
and have the desire to pray. Amen

Prayer for Departed Parents

O God,
who has commanded us
to honor our father and mother:
in your mercy
have pity on the souls of my father and mother
and forgive them their trespasses;
and make me to see them again
in the joy of everlasting brightness. Amen.From the Roman Missal

Prayer for a Departed Man

Incline Thine ear, O Lord,
unto our prayers,
wherein we humbly pray Thee
to show Thy mercy
upon the soul of Thy servant [N.],
whom Thou hast commanded
to pass out of this world,
that Thou wouldst place him
in the region of peace and light,
and bid him be a partaker with Thy Saints.
Through Christ our Lord. Amen. From the Roman Missal

Prayer for a Departed Woman

We beseech Thee, O Lord,
according to Thy loving-kindness,
have mercy upon the soul of Thy handmaiden [N.],
and now that she is set free
from the defilements of this mortal flesh,
restore her to her heritage of everlasting salvation.
Through Christ our Lord. Amen.From the Roman Missal

Prayer to Our Suffering Savior for the Holy Souls in Purgatory

O most sweet Jesus,
through the bloody sweat
which Thou didst suffer
in the Garden of Gethsemane,
have mercy on these Blessed Souls.
Have mercy on them.
R. Have mercy on them, O Lord.

O most sweet Jesus,
through the pains
which Thou didst suffer
during Thy most cruel scourging,
have mercy on them.
R. Have mercy on them, O Lord.

O most sweet Jesus,
through the pains
which Thou didst suffer
in Thy most painful crowning with thorns,
have mercy on them.
R. Have mercy on them, O Lord.

O most sweet Jesus,
through the pains
which Thou didst suffer
in carrying Thy cross to Calvary,
have mercy on them.
R. Have mercy on them, O Lord.

O most sweet Jesus,
through the pains
which Thou didst suffer
during Thy most cruel Crucifixion,
have mercy on them.
R. Have mercy on them, O Lord.

O most sweet Jesus,
through the pains
which Thou didst suffer
in Thy most bitter agony on the Cross,
have mercy on them.
R. Have mercy on them, O Lord.

O most sweet Jesus,
through the immense pain
which Thou didst suffer
in breathing forth Thy Blessed Soul,
have mercy on them.
R. Have mercy on them, O Lord.

(Recommend yourself to the Souls in Purgatory and mention your intentions here)

Blessed Souls,
I have prayed for thee;
I entreat thee, who are so dear to God,
and who are secure of never losing Him,
to pray for me a miserable sinner,
who is in danger of being damned,
and of losing God forever. Amen.St. Alphonsus Liguori (1697-1787), from his Novena for the Holy Souls in Purgatory

Lithuanian All Souls Day Prayer

Dear souls of the dead,
you are still remembered by my family;
you are most worthy of our perpetual remembrance,
especially you, my grandparents, my parents,
also our relatives, children,
and everyone whom death
took away from our home.
I invite you to this annual feast.
We pray that this feast be agreeable to you,
just like the memory of you is to us. Amen.